


The Marionette

by burntp0pcorn



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Anger, Angst and Romance, Apex Games, Apex Legends, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Original Character(s), Rating May Change, Revenant Being Revenant (Apex Legends), Revenant Being an Asshole (Apex Legends), Revenge, Slow Burn, Soft Revenant (Apex Legends), Tsundere Revenant (Apex Legends)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:07:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27650425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burntp0pcorn/pseuds/burntp0pcorn
Summary: Emmeline spent three months befriending Revenant before he disappeared without saying a word. She thought he was dead until she saw him murder the newest Apex competitor Forge on live television. Now he's come back to her with a new hatred for the world, demanding that she come with him to World's Edge as his personal mechanic. What happens when he realizes she's not like all of the other skinsuits? Slow burn romance with eventual smut.Revenant x OC
Relationships: Revenant (Apex Legends)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. The Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends! This is my first Apex Legends fic and I've tried to be as true to the timeline/canon as possible, so if you notice any discrepancies with the actual canon please don't hate me too much. We're coming into the story right before Season 4 starts and Revenant officially enters the games in place of Forge. Hope you all enjoy! <3

For the seventh day in a row, it was raining in Solace City. Emmeline walked with her hood up and umbrella low, shielding her face from the wind. It was nearing the end of Autumn. It was colder than usual this time of year. The wind made its way around her umbrella and bit at the pale skin of her cheeks. She shivered and squeezed her umbrella handle tighter as she brought her arms closer to her chest. Emmeline didn’t have many clothes anymore, so her small frame was covered in a randomized mess of fabrics and colors. Basically anything she’d been able to grab in the span of several frantic minutes were now the only things that she owned. Currently that consisted of a few shirts, one pair of pants, a jacket, a patched red scarf, her phone, and a small picture of her mother. The fire had taken everything else from her, so she had to make do with what she could. Her current life situation wasn’t anywhere close to ideal, but Emmeline was just lucky to be safe, and alive.

She glanced down as she walked, watching the way the water was displaced by her brown boots. _Splish, splish, splish._ The sound was methodical and helped wash away the thoughts that were troubling her, which nowadays was quite a few things. She inhaled deeply, letting the smell of storms, manufacturing smog, and human activity fill her senses. Emmeline had lived in Solace City for so long that the strange smells of the bustling city didn’t bother her anymore. They were now a source of tranquility for her nerves, as strange as that sounded. The city was loud, dirty, and usually damp due to the frequent rain but there was just something so pleasant about it. Even though no one in the city bothered to acknowledge one another, it was calming to know that there were other humans here too that lived and breathed the city like she did, all of their hearts beating as one: the heartbeat of Solace City. Without any family to speak of or any friends nearby, Emmeline often felt lonely but the thought of other people in the city sometimes made her feel less alone. As she walked through the bustling streets, she wondered if somehow she had become invisible. Not a single person glanced her way or at anyone else for even a moment. Everyone was glued to their wrist watches and phones, giving their undivided attention to the digital world.

As she passed by various people, her mind cycled through a list of what they could possibly be doing. Were they reading a breaking news article? Did they just get an email from a friend? Was their lover texting them ridiculously cheesy jokes? Thinking about all of it brought that feeling of loneliness back to the pit of her stomach. She thought of her own inbox, sitting untouched for weeks. Not only had she not heard from a friend in a long while but her business email was also completely dried up. After the fire, her clients rescinded their repair and design orders immediately. In a world like this where you had to be first or you might as well be last, her clients needed their work completed right away. Emmeline was known for her quick wit and keen eye which was why she had such a wide array of clients and jobs. If it involved moving parts, she guaranteed that she could fix it. If there was a part, a gun, or anything involving mechanical engineering that a client wanted custom designed, she guaranteed that she could do it the best and the quickest. Her email had been bursting at the seams, so much so that Emmeline had been considered hiring an assistant just so she could keep up. That was, of course, when she still had her shop. Now, she had nothing. The fire had claimed it all. She had no shop, no tools, no clients. Just a few items of clothing and an old picture. She was quite literally starting from zero in almost every single asset of her life.

The sudden jingle of bells caught Emmeline’s ears and she looked up. She’d been so intent in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed how close she was to her destination. There, mounted on the wall above her were six flashing, grimey red letters: MARKET. Bells were tied by a string to the front door handle and in the wind they softly jingled. She closed her umbrella and hurried inside the shelter of the building to shake off the cold. When she entered, the man at the counter barely glanced over at her before quickly turning his glance back to the TV on the wall. Emmeline smiled at him even though the man was already back to not caring whether or not she was there. This exact same scenario happened when she had come here for the past four weeks to get a stockpile of food for her motel room. The same cashier would glance over, barely register her existence, and then go back to watching the TV. He would ring up her items without even looking over at her, his eyes glued to the screen in the corner. She sighed, the thoughts of her possible invisibility coming back to her as she put away the dripping umbrella.

Emmeline grabbed a basket and began to slowly work her way around the shop. She grabbed an assortment of things but mostly snacks. Unfortunately in the motel she was currently housed in there wasn’t a kitchen for her to work with so she had to make do with vending machine type foods. She mulled over her choices for a while even though she always bought the exact same things and eventually made her way over to the counter where she set the rickety basket down. The cashier dumped its contents out on the table and began absentmindedly ringing them up while his eyes stayed on the TV mounted on the wall. Emmeline looked up at the dusty little screen to see what he was watching. Usually it was something boring like the weather or an overplayed soap opera, but today it was a broadcast from Hammond Robotics. The words _Exclusive Report_ flashed on the screen as the graphic faded to a scene of a woman sitting in front of a large Apex Legends banner. She was smartly dressed in a black dress suit. The words _Lisa Stone, OTV Field Correspondent_ flashed below her as she smiled warmly at the camera.

“We’re sitting here tonight with James ‘The Forge’ McCormick,” Lisa began, her broadcasted words echoing cheerily throughout the dingy little shop. “It’s great to have you here.” The camera panned out to show a man sitting across from her. He was a large, very muscular man who looked to be in his early thirties. His close cut brown hair had a single streak of white running through it and like the woman, he was nicely dressed with a white dress shirt and black tie. His left arm was completely mechanical, and he had a scar above his left eye. Everything about this man screamed fighter and warrior to Emmeline which made sense, considering the Apex Legends banner behind the reporter.

“Of course it’s great to have me here! But please, call me Jimmy,” Forge responded, giving her a hearty laugh. He was handsome and clearly knew it by the way he spoke. He spoke with confidence edging on arrogance, but not in an unfriendly way. This was clearly a man who was meant to be in front of a camera giving a performance.

“Jimmy. Your recent victories have qualified you to finally compete in the Apex Games. What does that feel like?” she said, smiling at the confident man across from her as she gestured to the Apex banner behind her.

_Everyone_ watched the Apex Games. The legends were celebrities across the Outlands, and the ones who actually won games and were claimed champions were immensely popular. People cheered on their favorite legends and collected memorabilia of their likeness sold at stalls on the sides of the road. To say that the games were popular was an understatement. It was _the_ most popular event the Outlands had ever known. Though it was a vicious and violent bloodsport, the legends didn’t actually die during the games so they could compete again and again. Emmeline personally had a soft spot in her heart for Pathfinder, the bubbly, smiling robot legend. She couldn’t help but love the friendly and a bit naive demeanor of Pathy (as she nicknamed him), and his quips always made her laugh. She also loved Wattson, a fellow scientist whose brilliant mind and quick reaction times carried her to victory many times. Emmeline dreamed of meeting them both someday but knew it would probably never happen, especially with everything she had on her plate right now. Unfortunately she hadn’t watched the games in the past month and was sorely behind on Apex Games news. From the sounds of it, it looked like this Forge was the new competitor in the games. Emmeline wondered what his playstyle was like, or what his abilities were.

“...the legends are great and they deserve respect, but they’ve never faced anyone like me,” Forge was saying when Emmeline turned her attention back to the TV. He was leaning forward enthusiastically. Forge was quite the captivating figure and seemed to be eating up the attention. “And when we hit the ground, I dare any of them to bring the fight up close and personal.”

“I-” Lisa began, but faltered as the lights began to flicker. Emmeline cocked her head in confusion and she could hear the cashier next to her slow down the bagging of her items. They were both transfixed to the TV. “We seem to be having some technical difficulties.” The lights flickered more erratically, completely went out for a split second, and then came back on. Lisa looked worried for a brief moment, but quickly switched to a serene smile as if remembering she was still live on TV. “Ah, there we go. Sorry about that.” The camera panned back over to Forge, who was palming a golden necklace emblazoned with the Hammond Robotics logo in his hands. He looked proud and seemed unfazed by the sudden power outage. Forge laughed heartily again as soon as the camera was back on him and he opened his mouth to begin speaking again.

Before he could speak, something faded into the frame behind Forge. It was like a shadow at first, quick as lightning that was on him before Emmeline could fully register what she was looking at. It faded from the shadow and into the light, showing its form. It was a slender, robotic humanoid with long, silver limbs accented with brilliant red that ended in razor sharp blades. Its chest and shoulder plates were the same red, as well as the cloth wrap around its head. It was large, looking to be about 7 feet tall by comparison. It also bore a cloth made from the same red fabric on the front part of its waist and its legs had plates of the same bright crimson. Emmeline took all of these things in one by one but her brain didn’t make the full connection until she saw the eyes. The machine’s golden slitted eyes glinted sharply in the silver faceplate, intent on the large man in front of him. The machine brought it’s arm backward and with one quick, easy movement, plunged its bladed hand into Forge’s chest. The blades went all the way through Forge’s chest and out the other side, spraying blood everywhere.

Before Emmeline could react, the camera panned back to Lisa who was covered in blood. Forge was screaming in the background while Lisa sat there, pale as snow, with a look of absolute terror on her bloodied face. Then she let out a scream so hysterical it rattled Emmeline’s core. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the broadcast cut to static. Emmeline stood there in complete shock, the colors of the static broadcast filling her entire vision. She tried to blink, to move, to speak, but she couldn’t. All she could see beyond the colors of the static were those golden eyes. They were staring right at her, into her, penetrating her mind until she could see nothing else. Eyes she had seen so many times before that she would recognize them anywhere, in any light, in any moment or time. Those were _his_ eyes. The simulacrum that she had spent so much time with in her shop before it had burned to the ground... the simulacrum that she hadn’t seen for the past four months and thought was dead. _Revenant._

There was noise coming from somewhere near her but Emmeline couldn’t process what it was. Her hands trembled as they covered her mouth. She didn’t–couldn’t–move them for fear that she would cry out in surprise or fear, she wasn’t sure which. So many thoughts filled up her mind so quickly that she couldn’t process them all. But there was a singular thought that rose above them all. _Revenant was alive._ All this time Emmeline thought he was dead. The last time he had come by her shop was nearly four months ago. Before that she had seen him almost every single day for three months. Revenant was rude, rough around the edges, and a bit menacing, but Emmeline had still enjoyed his company. There had always been a sort of strangely thoughtful intent in his actions that was buried deep beneath all of his contempt… something, well, she didn’t really have a word for it. It was in the way he continued coming to her shop for repairs to the various parts that made up his body, even when he had no repairs to be made. It was in the way that he pulled things down from the unreachable top shelf before she asked, even though he scoffed at her when she thanked him. Something was there beneath all of his hatred and malice that kept him coming back to her. She never dared bring it up with him for fear that he would withdraw into himself the moment she asked. So she kept it to herself and when he showed up day after day, she showed him continued kindness even when he was completely silent or even rude in return.

When he suddenly stopped showing up, Emmeline couldn’t help but be concerned. Days and then weeks passed with no sign of him. She tried to find any information on the simulacrum that she could, but it was impossible not knowing much about him beyond what he called himself and who had manufactured him. No matter how long she stayed up researching, there continued to be no sign of him. Finally, after a month of many late nights and dead end searches, she finally accepted that he was gone. The night that she did she cried. She wondered whether anyone else mourned for him but in her heart she knew the answer. He was a simulacrum created by Hammond Robotics for one obvious purpose: to kill. To kill who she didn’t know and had never asked, but with his bladed fingers his creation purpose had always been obviously known to her. No matter how many pleasant memories she had with him, that was still a fact. She doubted that anyone besides her was mourning that he was gone, in fact she assumed many would celebrate his death. After accepting his death, it often bothered her that she never got the chance to ask him why he always came around to see her. There were so many questions that she had wanted to ask him. Those thoughts woke her up at night many times with her heart beating out of her chest, questions racing through her mind. But she couldn’t ask any of them. He was gone.

At least… Emmeline thought he was. Until now. Until she’d seen him murder the newest Apex legend on live television. Where had Revenant _been_ all of that time? Why hadn’t he told her that he was leaving? Not that the simulacrum had to tell anything to her but she… she thought they had something like a friendship between them. Strange and unconventional, but some sort of friendship all the same. With all of the time that he had spent with her in the shop she assumed he felt the same way about her. But now, with the static filling her vision and the gurgling screams of Forge filling her ears, she began to feel small. She saw those flashing letters in her mind, the ones that had shown themselves multiple times when she agreed to let clients pay back their balance at a later date, yet they never did: _NAIVE._ That naivety that she’d always carried with her, the easy trusting of others, had reared its ugly head back in her direction. Emmeline could almost feel herself shrinking beneath her layers of clothes as the thoughts began to drown her and she couldn’t break herself out of their control.

She felt herself being pulled down into that spiral until a heavy hand on her shoulder caused her to snap back to reality. The amber-eyed cashier was leaning over the counter, shaking her shoulder. “Hey, hey, you ‘aight?” he was saying, his accented voice cutting through the thoughts racing through her head. Emmeline slowly lowered her hands from her mouth, trying to stop them from trembling. He was looking expectantly at her for an answer. After all of these weeks of him ignoring her existence, it was strange to be looking straight into his eyes. It calmed her to be here with him in this moment, and she focused on the little green specks in his irises.

“Y-yes,” she managed to say.

The answer must have satisfied him because the man let his hand fall from her shoulder as he retreated back to behind the counter. “Holy shit,” he breathed, eyeing the TV over his shoulder. It was still static. “Dude just got murdered on live television. Holy shit.” Emmeline said nothing as he continued mumbling to himself while he bagged her items. Her green eyes fixated on the white plastic bag that he was shoving her items into. She wanted to talk to the guy, to say something to fill the silence between his sentences, but she couldn’t get a word out. “Seriously, never seen anything like that in my life. Insane. Hopefully they catch ‘em. Bastard looked like a fucking nightmare.” Emmeline felt his eyes on her again. “Total’s $26.77.”

She handed him her credit chip and continued her silence. Her first contact with a fellow human in weeks and here she was unable to speak a word. Typical. Once the transaction went through, he handed her back her chip and pushed the bag across the counter at her. “Sure you’re okay? You’re as pale as a ghost.”

Grabbing the bag, Emmeline forced a smile on her face. “I’m fine. T-Thank you,” she forced herself to say and before he could respond, she turned and left the store. The cold from the outside hit her but she barely noticed. All of her thoughts were consumed by those golden eyes. Without even bothering to open up her umbrella, Emmeline stepped out into the rain. She closed her eyes as she gripped the bag in her hand, letting the clouds douse her head and then her body with rainwater. Emmeline stood there for a number of minutes, eyes closed, wondering if maybe it had all been a dream. If she just opened her eyes, everything would be back to normal. All of her problems would be gone and she would find out that the past four months had been a strange, sick nightmare that she’d been having. She’d have her shop back and there Revenant would be, leaning in the same corner like he always did, asking her to hurry up on his repairs. His comments wouldn’t have bothered her and she’d smile as she worked, and they would actually be… well, acquaintances. They’d have a sort of strange but real friendship and it was genuine, not a product of her idiotic naivety. She’d have a ton of steady clients to keep her working, and all of the tools in her collection than she could possibly dream of. Yeah, all of this was a nightmare. So she opened her eyes…

And everything was the same. At that moment everything almost overwhelmed her. Her shop had still burned to the ground. She was still living out of an old, mildewy motel. Her business email was still dried up and her phone still sat silent, waiting for phone calls and texts from friends she thought she had but hadn’t heard from in months. Revenant had still murdered someone on live television and she was still eating stale snacks from the market that should have been tossed out months ago. Emmeline looked down, watching the raindrops hit her scuffed boots. It was so, so tempting to give in and say fuck it all. With everything gone she had almost nothing to lose. She wanted to curl into a ball and sob and to mourn everything she had lost but she knew it wasn’t the time. No… not now. She had to keep going. With that thought in her mind, Emmeline looked up. Through the rainy, light hazy fog of the city she could see the path that she had come from back to the motel. She didn’t want to go back to the sheets that smelled like mothballs or the bedside table lamp that flickered every so often but she knew she had to. If she was going to move forward and past all of this, she had to start somewhere. So she pushed the thoughts away of those golden eyes and her dwindling money and took a step forward and then another, until she was finally walking again. Back to the motel where she would start on plans for how in the hell she was going to get enough money to open back up another shop, and never think of that simulacrum ever again.

\------

By the time Emmeline made it back to the motel, she was shivering uncontrollably. The temperature had dropped sharply and she hadn’t bothered to use her umbrella which left her soaking wet. As soon as she stepped inside the tiny rented room and shut the door behind her, she dropped her bag to the floor and left behind a water trail all the way to the bathroom. She pulled off the clothes that clung to her thin frame and tossed them haphazardly onto the tiled floor where the water pooled underneath them. The water that she turned on in the shower took seemingly ages to heat up but as soon as it did Emmeline stepped inside its warmth. She stood there for what felt like an eternity, letting the hot water heat her until she was no longer shivering and felt as if she might burn up. She had no idea what time it was when she stepped out of the warmth of the bathroom but didn’t bother to look at the clock to find out. Instead, she put on a pair of underwear and one of the three shirts she owned and collapsed onto the uncomfortable bed. Covering her face with her damp towel, Emmeline closed her eyes and fell almost instantly asleep.

\------

Hours, days, years later, Emmeline didn’t know… she woke up. Not in the relaxing way one might wake from a restful sleep, but her brain jolted her awake telling her that something was wrong. She sat up in the darkness of the room, the air catching in her throat as she tried to take a breath. The room was silent except for the soft hum of the heater and the beating of her heart in her ears, but she felt like something was here or someone was watching her. She grabbed the blankets that were piled beside her and brought them up to her chest in a desperately pathetic defensive measure, as if they would somehow do anything for her if someone was there. Struggling against her mounting unease and fear, she managed to get three words out, “I-Is someone here?”

The darkness seemed to react to her words and a shape melted into focus from within the shadows. It was the same shape that she had seen on the television behind Forge moments before his death. Even before the shadows spoke to her, she knew from the golden eyes who the shape was. Her breath once again caught in her throat as she heard the soft, metallic hum of Revenant’s voice filling her ears.

“Hello Emmeline. You should have locked your door.”


	2. The Collection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm so sorry this update took so long to get out. I had a lot going on with the holidays as well as some serious health issues that came up. Luckily everything is okay now, so updates will become more regular. My goal is two chapters a month. I hope you all enjoy! <3

In that moment there were so many things Emmeline wanted to say. She stared into the shadows of the dim light and into Revenant’s piercing golden eyes. It didn’t matter if Emmeline wanted to look away. She couldn’t. Just as those eyes had captivated her on the dusty television in the convenience store, they did the same to her now. Time seemed to pass so slowly in that moment that she felt like she might be in a dream. She tried to make sense of the millions of thoughts racing through her brain. She wanted to ask the simulacrum where he had been for the past four months, or why he had murdered the newest Apex legend on live television, or why the hell he was here right now, but of course the first thing that came out of her mouth was, “I-I think I forgot to lock the door.” 

A low, metallic hum akin to something like a laugh came from Revenant’s direction, and he leaned forward into a sliver of moonlight that shone through a slit in the curtain. The soft moonlight lit up part of his metal face, revealing his unmoving mouth and the partially scraped metal plating of his cheek. Even though Emmeline knew she shouldn’t, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of strange longing when she saw his features in the dim light. It felt like an eternity since she’d last seen him and even though robots couldn’t age the way humans did, she felt like he had still changed in some way. Not physically though… she couldn’t quite place it. It was something about the almost slightly erratic way he moved, or the way his laugh sent a chill down her spine. It was as if something terrible had happened to him in those four months that she’d not seen him. Like something– _someone_ –had broken a part of him. She felt as if he was holding some barely-tempered rage inside but just barely, like if she said something wrong he would explode with anger. He didn’t even need to speak for her to feel it. It was like an aura around him, daring her– _wanting her_ –to test his patience.

Revenant let the silence continue. His eyes examined her like he was taking in all of her features one by one for the first time. Emmeline felt like a test subject in a science experiment being inspected under an intense spotlight. She wanted to say something, anything, but she felt small under his gaze and her mouth felt dry. Finally after a very long moment, Revenant broke the silence. “It took me a while to find you. Couldn’t you have left me a note?” he cooed, a soft, malicious undercurrent laced within the words. The tone of his words made her heart skip a beat. In the three months they’d spent together in her shop, Revenant had never spoken to her that way. Something _had_ happened to him while he’d been away, she was sure of it. She wanted to ask him but she was too afraid. That aura of barely controlled rage seeped out of him with every word he spoke and it kept her questions at bay.

Emmeline licked her lips, her mouth feeling impossibly dry. “You didn’t leave me one when you stopped coming by the shop,” she managed to say. 

“Leave you a note? What, did I need permission from you to leave? Since when? Get over yourself, skinsuit.” Revenant stepped forward fully into the moonlight now, his near seven-foot-tall frame towering above her small form on the bed. Emmeline couldn’t help but think of Forge with the simulacrum’s bladed hand through his chest. It would take him less than half a second to do the same to her. She remembered the splattered blood on Lisa’s face and her terrified screams. Was she dead too? Had Revenant killed her after killing Forge? The thought of it made her tremble.

“I told you before I don’t like when you call me that,” Emmeline whispered, her eyes never breaking from his unwavering gaze. It had been a long time since Revenant had called her that sickening nickname that he loved to use. She took a breath to steady herself and pushed away the thoughts of Lisa’s terrified expression. “You came to see me every day for almost three months and then you just stopped showing up.”

The statement brought a full, grating laugh from Revenant. His laugh was so filled with ridicule that she couldn’t bear to look at him anymore. Emmeline looked down to the bed, where she tried to focus her gaze on the folds of the motel sheets. That feeling of powerlessness that came from her naivety made itself known again and Emmeline felt as small as a crumb beneath a giant’s foot. “You were worried about me? Oh, now _that’s_ cute,” the simulacrum said and she could feel the sneer in his voice.

Emmeline hated the way Revenant’s words made her feel so small. After all the time the two of them had spent together in her shop, Emmeline thought that he cared about her in some way. Like they were friends. She remembered the way he’d listen to her sing, even if after a while he told her to shut it. Or the way he would inquire about her newest client designs, even if he would always pick out the flaws. But even when he had said those things to her, it never held such malicious intent like his words did now. Back in the shop she would have just kept on singing or working on her designs and he’d eventually stop complaining. This Revenant felt so different, so alien to her. She swallowed her fear. “Yes,” she said after finally working up the courage to get the words out. “Yes I was worried about you.”

“Well,” he said smoothly, his words dripping with contempt. “That’s not my problem, now is it?”

With those words, Emmeline felt the fire of anger rise in her heart. It rose above her fear and unease, and for the first time since the conversation started she felt a sense of confidence. With her heart beating out of her chest, Emmeline pushed the covers aside and stood up. Her toes dug into the cheap carpet of the motel room floor as she took three steps forward towards the towering simulacrum. She could feel herself shaking in fear but she kindled her fire of anger and that kept her on her feet. He was so much larger than her five and a half foot frame. “What do you want?” she said, trying desperately to keep her voice steady. “Did you just come here to make me look like an idiot? If so, congratulations, you’ve already done that. So get out. I don’t deserve this.”

Before Emmeline could register his movements, Revenant’s hand was at the side of her face, the bladed edge of his finger running down the length of her cheek. His lightning quick movements made her heart skip a beat. Emmeline saw Lisa’s terrified expression again, and the bloodied hole in Forge’s chest. The simulacrum was like a cat playing with his food, delighting in the squirming fear of his prey. Emmeline was keenly aware that she was the prey. “There’s that spark I’ve always admired,” he said softly, pushing the blade ever so slightly into the soft skin of her cheek. She didn’t dare move, even as he dug into her flesh. “You’re lucky I like you.”

Emmeline’s breath caught in her throat as she felt the cool metal of his hand caressing her cheek. The blade didn’t break her skin, but she knew it would only take a millisecond for Revenant to slice her. She felt her confidence vanish. As she looked up into his golden eyes, it was as if she was looking at a completely different machine… or perhaps she never knew him at all. Perhaps all of her memories were lies, some twisted fantasy that her brain wanted her to believe. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach. “Why are you doing this to me?” she whispered into the darkness. “What happened to you?”

Revenant continued to caress her cheek. There had once been a time where Emmeline might have wanted to feel the cool metal of Revenant’s hands on her face, but that feeling was now a distant memory. This felt wrong and she wanted nothing more than to move away from him. But she stood still, not daring to move. “I’ve always been this way, Emmeline. You just chose to ignore it,” he said, the quiet malice in his words clear as day. After what seemed like an eternity, his hand dropped from her face. She let out the breath she’d been holding in and instinctively took a step backward. The simulacrum didn’t react and continued to watch her. She felt naked and exposed under his gaze. “I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here.” He hummed, waiting for her to respond. When she said nothing, he continued. “I came to collect you. You’re coming with me to World’s Edge.”

“I’m… what?” she stuttered, completely taken aback by his statement.

“You heard me,” Revenant said. “I’ve been extended an invitation from the Syndicate to play in their little game.” The simulacrum brought his arm upward and flexed his bladed fingers, watching them move in the dim light. Emmeline watched the moonlight glint off their sharp edges. Even though it was hard to see, she swore she could see dried blood in between the joints of his digits. “So I took it. Gives me a chance to kill as much as I please.”

“The Syndicate invited you to the Apex Games?” she asked, hardly believing the words that were coming out of her mouth. The Syndicate was a mercenary organization that ruled over the coalition of the seven planets in the Outlands system, as well as the organization that funded the Apex Games. If there was one organization you did not want to get on the bad side of, it was the Syndicate. They controlled practically everything. “Why would they do that? You just killed their newest legend.”

“Because,” Revenant said so softly that it made another chill go up Emmeline’s spine. “They’re afraid of me. They think they can control me if I’m there. You won’t fear what you can control. Of course, that’s what those pathetic skinsuits chose to believe.” He let out another grating laugh. “They only think they know what fear is. I can’t wait to show them what I was truly built for.”

He didn’t say exactly what that statement meant, but Emmeline was keenly aware of the implication. “Why did you kill him?” she whispered. “Forge. He was just going to compete in the games. He didn’t deserve to die. What about the reporter? Did you kill her too?”

At those words, Revenant leaned in towards her. Emmeline stood completely still. He was so close that she was sure he could feel her unsteady breaths on the metal where his lips would have been, if he had any. “Why?” he said quietly, his voice laced with contempt. She could hear his cooling fans whirring in between his words. “Because Hammond Robotics deserves to be burned to the ground with every last skinbag in it.”

 _Hammond Robotics._ As Revenant said those two words, news broadcast headlines suddenly filled Emmeline’s head. She remembered seeing several articles over the past four months about break-ins at various Hammond Robotics facilities but hadn’t paid much attention to them. Hammond Robotics was a defense contracting company that was another big player in the Outlands, just like the Syndicate was. At the time of those break-ins she’d been over her head in client orders and hadn’t had the time to look into the details. She thought of Forge’s light green eyes and his confident smile. Emmeline remembered that he’d been holding a Hammond Robotics logo emblazoned necklace. “You killed him just because, what, he worked for Hammond?”

“No. He was sponsored by them,” the simulacrum replied. “But it’s all the same to me. He was just another name to cross off my list. He acted so tough, but his skin was just as soft as every other skinbag. It was the same with the woman.”

His callous words made her sick to her stomach. She’d known what Revenant had been built for, but had always decided to ignore it. But now, with it all at the forefront, she couldn’t cast it aside anymore. She couldn’t make her own reality in her head about what Revenant was now. Emmeline tried not to think of the human lives that may have been taken by his hands. She tried not to think about how he could slice out her organs in a millisecond if he wanted to. “They still didn’t deserve to die. No one does.”

Another laugh. This time, louder than the others. Emmeline clenched her fists together and held his gaze despite her ever-present fear. “I’ve never met another skinsuit as naive as you,” he cooed malevolently. “Humans take and take and take until there’s nothing left, no matter what the cost. They could care less about their fellow people. You’re just too blind to see it. I did you a favor by killing them.”

“No,” she said quietly but firmly. She was squeezing her hands so tightly into fists that she thought she might break her own bones. “No… you’re wrong. You’re just trying to justify your actions. I won’t let you turn this back on me.”

Emmeline expected pushback from her statement, but the simulacrum just watched her for a long moment, saying nothing. She wanted to scream, ask him _why_ he kept looking at her like that, _why_ he wouldn’t leave… there were so many thoughts racing in her mind but she said nothing, instead letting the silence hang between them. Emmeline didn’t look away from his intense gaze, no matter how uncomfortable it made her. One of them had to give and she was determined not to let it be her. After a long moment, Revenant broke the stillness. “I’m not going to debate with you, skinsuit. Just shut up and grab your things. You’re coming with me. I need someone to keep my parts moving while I’m slaughtering skinsuits in the games. You’ll do nicely as my mechanic.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Emmeline said, the defiance in her words rising above her fear. “You can’t make me.”

“Oh?” Revenant whispered, and in a split second his hand was on her neck. She gasped at how cold his fingers were. He wasn’t hurting her with his slender metal digits resting around her neck, but the warning was there, clear as day. The simulacrum stroked the back of her neck, toying with her as she stood there trembling. “I’d love to see you try to deny me.”

As she stared into Revenant’s golden eyes, fear taking hold in every part of her being, Emmeline felt her eyes begin to moisten with tears. She hated everything about this moment. She thought back to earlier when she felt like she was living in a nightmare, but that time seemed a distant memory. Emmeline realized now that the nightmare had just started. Revenant watched her intently for a long moment and eventually let his hand fall from around her neck. The ends of his bladed fingers softly scraped against the side of her neck as his hand fell away, the movement itself a warning. “You know what? I’m feeling charitable. When I claim a championship by slaughtering everyone, you can have my money. I don’t need it anyway. I just want blood.”

 _Money._ The digital posters that flashed across the Solace City’s billboards appeared in Emmeline’s mind. She saw the upside-down V logo of the Apex games enclosed in a circle with the amount of credits the legends received as the championship prize underneath. It was a mind boggling amount of money for someone like her. A couple of championships worth of prize money could not only provide her a top of the line new shop with anything she could ever want or need in it, but it would also set her up to live comfortably for the rest of her life. At the thought of it, she could feel her heart start racing in anticipation, even though she tried to resist it. Something in her face must have given her away, because Revenant started to laugh again.

“I knew it wouldn’t take much to get you under my finger,” he said derisively. “Skinsuits are so predictable.”

“I never said yes,” Emmeline said as she wiped the tears out of her eyes, desperately trying to think of anything she could do or say to get herself out of this. As much as she hated to admit it, she could _really_ use that money. Even if Revenant won just a single championship, she would easily have enough funds to begin the early process of setting up another shop… but if he won several and she got all of that money, Emmeline knew she’d be set for years. The thought of a state of the art, fully functioning shop within a year was tantalizing, and beyond what she’d originally believed possible. She almost salivated thinking of everything she could buy that would upgrade her far beyond what she had used in her old shop. Emmeline wanted to say no so, so badly. _This isn’t worth the money,_ she tried to tell herself, but she knew she was lying. All she had to do was deal with Revenant’s shitty attitude until he won a few games, and then she could dip out. Emmeline doubted it would take the simulacrum long to secure a championship, considering his thirst for blood. Then she’d be set for life… and she would never have to see him again. 

“How do I know you’re not lying?” she said slowly. “About the money.”

“Ask the Syndicate yourself,” Revenant said, turning away from her. Emmeline knew by the way he began to open the door before waiting for her response that the conversation had gone exactly how he predicted it would. He’d trapped her like a mouse with cheese, wrapping her around his finger. “Grab your stuff and meet me outside. I’ll take you there. You’ve got five minutes.”

Revenant stepped outside but stopped short of closing the door. He paused for a moment. “Don’t try to run,” he said, his low warning sending chills up Emmeline’s spine. “Unless you want me to hunt you down.”

He shut the door behind him without a glance backward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the second chapter! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to say hi below. Thank you for reading! <3

**Author's Note:**

> That wraps up the first chapter! I hope all of you enjoyed the first installment. If you have any questions or remarks, please feel free to leave me a comment. Thank you so much for reading! <3


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